


Broom Polish and Butterbeer

by wafflesandkruge



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Amortentia, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Hogwarts AU, Kaz is bad at emotions, Vignettes, soc zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25516639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesandkruge/pseuds/wafflesandkruge
Summary: What does Amortentia smell like to the great Kaz Brekker? Perhaps it’s the victory and elation of a winning Quidditch match, or studying outside. Maybe it’s careful event planning and the lingering memory of surprise. But one thing is for certain: it smells like Inej.(summary written by @sanktsforsaken on tumblr)
Relationships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Comments: 10
Kudos: 136





	Broom Polish and Butterbeer

**Author's Note:**

> This was my piece for the Six of Crows zine organized by @kayadoodles! (Extras should be available on her shop soon!)
> 
> The fic takes place in the same universe as my other hogwarts au fics which can be found in my tumblr compilation work.

Kaz knew he should have skipped class with Nina today. Around him, his classmates buzzed with excitement and wonder as they all gathered around a bubbling cauldron of a pearly potion. Inej moved forward while giving him a questioning look, but he shook his head. He simultaneously attempted to move towards the back of the crowd and plotted how he could sneak into the classroom later to steal some for blackmailing purposes. Kaz had read ahead enough that he knew exactly what it was. And what it would do.

“Can anyone tell me what this is?” Professor Yul-Bayur asked. He scanned the classroom. “Put your hand down, Kuwei, I know you know. Ah. Mr. Brekker. Would you care to enlighten us?”

His golden eyes were focused on Kaz. He scowled. The one day he decided to show up for class, it had to be for this lesson. He cleared his throat. Other students were watching him curiously. “Amortentia, sir.”

“Correct. Two points for Slytherin. For another two points, can you tell me its effects if ingested?”

“A temporary, but powerful, infatuation directed towards the one who administered the potion, sir.”

“Well done! Now tell me, what do you smell?”

Kaz had been dreading this question, but there was no way to avoid it now. The Gryffindor students seemed a bit bored, but his housemates had all perked up. They saw a vulnerability in their Prefect, a possible weakness for them to exploit. They cleared a path for him to the cauldron as Kaz walked up to the front of the room. Everything started to blur a little at the edges as he tried to hold his breath. He could feel Inej’s dark eyes on him. The steam from the cauldron swirled enticingly around the air. Familiar scents tickled his nose, but he waited a heartbeat longer before he gave in and inhaled.

* * *

“You should have seen Zoya’s face after I snatched the snitch from right under her,” Inej giggled as she took another sip from her firewhiskey. She let out a little hiccup. Kaz carefully took the glass from her and set it onto the coffee table. 

There had been a big Quidditch game today: a grudge match with Slytherin pitted against Gryffindor. Kaz had watched from the Hufflepuff section (because most of his friends were in Gryffindor, but they still wanted to sit together without being torn apart by the rivaling house). They’d all worn a mixture of items displaying support for both Gryffindor and Slytherin— except Kaz, because he was Slytherin through and through and he would rather die than support Gryffindor. Kuwei also only wore red and gold because he hated Nikolai’s guts and wanted to see the Slytherin chaser knocked off his broom by a bludger. Kaz always wondered why Kuwei wasn’t in Slytherin.

The game had been brutal and ugly, just the way Hogwarts students liked it. It’d been neck to neck for nearly two hours until Inej had spotted the snitch hovering near Zoya Nazyalensky, the Gryffindor seeker. She’d gone into a spiralling dive, so fast that Kaz had nearly been on his feet with his wand at the ready. Right before she would have hit the ground, she’d pulled level and raised her hand with the snitch still fluttering weakly within it. Her broad smile had made Kaz freeze for a second, admiring how at ease she looked in the air, even as all her teammates tackled her to the pitch and she was lost in a sea of muddy green jerseys.

And now they were here, in their common room in the aftermath of yet another one of Slytherin’s infamous Quidditch afterparties. Empty bottles were clustered on every available surface and several of Inej’s teammates were passed out on sofas and rugs. Their captain, Nikolai, was noticeably absent. Kaz assumed he was off arguing with Zoya. Passionately. In some dark broom closet.

“I wonder if I was good enough for Nikolai to put me on the team permanently,” Inej mumbled. Kaz glanced over at her. Her eyes were half shut, her lips twisted into a small frown. He couldn’t help the fond smile that crept onto his face.

“You’ve been on the house team for two years already, remember?”

“Really? That’s great…” she trailed off. Her head dropped onto his shoulder. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away. 

Her closeness occupied all of his thoughts. He was hyper aware of the pressure on his shoulder, her slow inhales and exhales as she dozed off, the tickle of her hair against his neck. He turned his head slowly towards her and the scent of her shampoo wafted up. 

Sandalwood and sage.

* * *

“HERBOLOGY IS A USELESS SUBJECT THAT OUGHT TO BE STRUCK FROM THE CURRICULUM OF HOGWARTS!” Inej shouted across the lake. Her voice echoed through the mountains. Kaz raised an eyebrow from the blanket he’d been sprawled on while reading his Charms textbook. 

“Feel better?”

“Quite,” she muttered as she plopped back down onto the blanket and pulled her Herbology textbook into her lap. They sat together in amiable silence with the only sound being the occasional turning of pages. 

It was an unusually nice day despite the lake having just melted from its winter state. Inej was bundled up in an oversized black cable-knit sweater he was pretty sure had belonged to him at some point. The sun made her hair glow golden-brown and give the appearance of a halo. Her rather angelic looks, however, were offset by the curses she muttered every so often as she scanned her textbook. A grin tugged at Kaz’s lips with each word that was somehow worse than the last. 

“Shall we start a swear jar for this study session? I’ve been running a little low on my Hogsmeade fund.”

She made an obscene gesture at him before jumping to her feet again and pacing the lake’s edge. A family of geese seemed to notice her and swam closer. Inej tossed them some bread crumbs from the remains of their picnic. Kaz watched with a slightly concerned expression on his face as two of the larger geese waddled to shore and gave him suspicious squints. 

“Inej dear, despite the kindness of your heart, perhaps you shouldn’t feed those bloodthirsty beasts. That one certainly has murder in his eyes.” 

The particularly violent-looking goose wandered a little closer and gave an obnoxious honk. Kaz glared as it came closer and ruffled its feathers.

Both him and the bird seemed to realize at the same time that Kaz’s wand lay on the grass between them where he had discarded it earlier. With a vicious honk, the goose lunged forward and seized it. Kaz got to his feet slowly, minding where the wand was pointed towards. “Inej?”

“What-”

Blue light shot out from the end on Kaz’s wand and sent him flying back a few feet. Right into the lake. He cursed vividly as the freezing water soaked his robes and stung his eyes. On the shore, Inej was doubled over laughing as she tried to wrestle his wand back from the goose. With a final threatening honk, it surrendered his wand and flew away, presumably to terrorize other Hogwarts students.

He waded out of the lake, shivering and squelching with every step. Inej turned away to wipe the tears from her eyes before handing back his wand. He scowled as he saw the marks the goose’s teeth had made in the wood. “If you breathe a  _ word _ of this to anyone-”

“About how you were bested by a goose?” She burst into another round of laughter. Kaz flicked a sleeve towards her and splattered her with lake water. The droplets shone like diamonds in her hair before soaking in. She sputtered in mock outrage. 

“Kaz! I have Quidditch practice later, I can’t smell like  _ lake _ .”

“It’s what you deserve for leading that demon waterfowl here,” Kaz muttered. 

Despite later drying themselves off with spells later, the scent of the lake clung to both of them as they made their way back to Hogwarts. 

Stagnant water and fresh flowers.

* * *

Inej zipped past the Slytherin stands, so close Kaz’s eyes watered from the sudden gust of wind. The hem of her uniform flew behind her as she executed dives and hairpin turns, trying to get the snitch before the Ravenclaw seeker could. But while everyone around him was focused on who was going to get the snitch first, Kaz couldn’t help but observe her. Even as Inej was chasing the snitch with laser-like focus, there was an undeniable expression of freedom on her face that Kaz never got to see outside of the pitch. 

“Ghafa dives once again! Andddddd-”

The stands were absolutely silent for the briefest of seconds.

“Slytherin has caught the snitch! They win 210-40!”

The crowd erupted with whoops and yells, sparks of magic going off everywhere. Kaz got to his feet. On the pitch, Inej’s teammates had gathered around her and Nikolai was carrying her on his shoulders. A broad smile was stretched across her face, visible even from where Kaz was watching. He wished he had a camera with him then, if only to preserve this moment forever and keep it on his desk. 

He waited in the stands until even the most enthusiastic of fans left, then climbed down himself. It took him several painful minutes, but when he reached the ground level, Inej was already there waiting for him. She had changed out of her uniform for looser clothes. Her usual braid was gone and instead, her hair was down and blowing softly in the breeze. As soon as she saw him, she beamed and slung her broom over her shoulder. 

“Not bad today, Wraith,” he commented as she fell into step beside him. “Very fancy flying.”

“How much money did you make today?”

Kaz’s mouth quirked upwards. “Enough to throw a very fun party tonight.”

“Am I invited?”

“You’ll be the guest of honor.” 

Inej tilted her head up at him and beamed. “I’ll look forward to it then.”

Kaz inhaled sharply and then suddenly every thought in his head evaporated until he was left with just her scent. 

Worn leather and broom polish.

* * *

“This was such a stupid idea,” Inej hissed.

“We didn’t spend three months perfecting an invisibility cloak for nothing,” Kaz whispered back. They crept down the abandoned passage, praying that a patrolling Prefect wouldn’t notice the fluttering tapestry in the potions corridor. But he’d planned for that too, just in case. It was Nikolai’s patrol tonight, and he’d always had a soft spot for his Seeker.

Although his friends had made sure their invisibility cloak was big enough for two people as a precaution, Kaz still had to make sure he stayed close to Inej or risk their shoes showing because of their height difference. The speed at which they were moving made it difficult for them to be too cautious of their movements and their shoulders accidentally bumped together frequently. Each little point of contact sent a little spark through Kaz that he wasn’t sure was completely unpleasant. 

A gust of frigid wind announced they were close to the exit. Kaz paused and glanced behind them. Nothing. Prefects would be heading to bed by now. If they’d made it this far without being caught, then they were probably safe. He pulled the cloak off of them and shoved it into his bag. 

After charming their clothes and shoes with waterproofing and warmth spells, they started the trek towards Hogsmeade. The moon was full and the night sky cloudless. Their path was illuminated with soft silver light that made the snow shimmer. They were silent as they walked, but Inej twirled happily and hopped up on stretches of fence when the opportunity presented itself. How she managed to keep her balance on those rickety pieces of snow covered wood, Kaz had no idea, but he was fascinated by every one of her miniscule movements. 

All too soon, they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. This late, the pub was nearly deserted save for a cloaked wizard sipping firewhiskey at the end of the bar. Kaz and Inej stomped off the snow from their boots and made their way inside. 

The rosy-cheeked woman behind the counter nodded at them. “Back again so soon, Brekker?”

He slid a folded slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it to her. She pocketed it with a wink. “Your order, coming right up.”

Inej watched him with narrowed eyes as the woman disappeared into a back room. “What did you give in exchange for your ‘order?’ And what exactly are you getting?”

Kaz fiddled with a sickle, making the coin appear and disappear as it rolled across his fingers. “I’m making sure Rosmerta’s son is doing alright at Hogwarts, getting him tutors and whatnot. In exchange, she supplies our house’s liquor cabinet.”

“You mean the trunk under your bed.”

“The house’s liquor cabinet, yes.”

Minutes ticked by as they waited for Rosmerta. Inej perched on a stool and made tiny flowers blossom from the tip of her wand. Kaz pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. He hoped Rosmerta didn’t forget the little extra thing he’d requested last week. Their trip rather depended on it, after all. 

“Here she is,” Inej murmured as she bumped his knee with hers. Kaz looked up from his sleight of hand just as Rosmerta hefted a burlap bag onto the counter. There was the tell-tale clink of glass bottles. Beside it, she set a small package wrapped in brown paper and twine. 

“That’s all, Brekker. Same price as last time.”

He pulled out a few galleons from his coat pocket. He nodded at the package. “Not charging extra for that?”

“You know me,” Rosmerta chuckled as she swept up the coins. “I’m a romantic at heart. Now off you go.”

Kaz muttered his thanks and swept out the door with Inej trailing him. He could feel her unspoken questions lingering in the brisk air, but he didn’t answer them. She would get what she wanted soon enough. 

The two of them crept through the streets of Hogsmeade, little more than two shadows in the snow. Kaz’s pulse was racing, but not from the cold. What if Inej didn’t like it, or if he had gotten something wrong again— He should never listen to Nina ever again. 

Thankfully, they were able to make it back to the common room undetected. Despite it being only nearly midnight, it was deserted. Just how Kaz had arranged it. Inej collapsed into a cushy armchair near the fireplace and sighed in contentment. While she was distracted by the warmth, Kaz set the package on a table and fished out two bottles of butterbeer from the bag. A wave of his wand later, it was all set up. A quick peek at his watch revealed he had about ten seconds left. He cleared his throat.

“Inej.”

“Yes?”

The second hand of his watch ticked over the 12. He muttered something under his breath, then with a flick of his wand, little bursts of multicolored lights went off around the room. There was a sharp intake of breath from Inej. 

“Kaz?”

“Happy birthday.”

Her eyes were wide as she took in the lights, the cake and candy set up on the table, and Kaz standing awkwardly in the middle of it all. With each second that passed, he felt like a bigger and bigger fool. He sighed and slipped his wand back into his coat. “I’m sorry, Nina told me you’d like it but she didn’t give me much to go off on and-”

“No,” Inej stopped him gently. She came closer until Kaz was able to see the lights reflected in her eyes. He swallowed hard. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

He momentarily lost the ability to speak as her lips curved into a soft smile. “Uh… shall we?”

He pulled her chair out for her. What would stay with him the most from that night was the sound of Inej’s quiet, infectious laughter mingling with the remains of their meal.

Butterbeer and cherry licorice sticks.

* * *

Kaz took a step back from the cauldron and tried to slow his breathing. Around him, his classmates buzzed with gossip and a few snickers could be heard. Professor Yul-Bayur raised an eyebrow.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Brekker?”

“Fine.” Even from where he was, Kaz could pick out Inej’s footsteps in the crowd as she made her way closer to him, which was the last thing he wanted. But he could hardly escape from a packed classroom, so he gritted his teeth and steeled himself for the Professor’s next question.

“Would you like to tell the class what you smell?”

He hesitated for a moment. “Nothing. I smell nothing.”

The Professor frowned. “Are you sure? It was brewed perfectly, I assure you.”

“Positive.” Kaz prayed he wouldn’t ask anymore questions. To his relief, the professor turned away, muttering something about cross contamination. He dismissed the class with a wave of his hand. 

There was the usual mad scramble of students and the scraping of chairs against the stone floor, but Kaz ignored all that and made a beeline for the door. He could already sense Inej trying to get to him through the crowd. With a few strategic whacks of his cane and well placed pushes, he was out of the classroom. He turned right and entered an empty corridor. A whispered spell later, he was concealed in a secret passage behind the walls he hadn’t shown Inej yet.

Outside, he could hear her soft footsteps pause. He would’ve wagered ten galleons that she had her puzzled look on her face, the one where her brows furrowed and her lips pursed. After a moment, her footsteps resumed and eventually faded away. Kaz loosed a breath he’d been holding. 

One day, Inej would get her answers. But if Kaz had his way, it wouldn’t be anytime soon.


End file.
